Computing devices, in all their variety, are pervasive in the everyday life of many people. Some computing devices allow extensive user interaction, such as a smartphone or desktop computer; while others allow only limited user interaction. To facilitate such user interaction, many computing devices include some type of user interface such as a keyboard, mouse, touchscreen, or the like. Depending on the current activity of the user, interacting with the computing device via some user interfaces may be challenging.
In addition to user interfaces for receiving user input, many computing devices include one or more output devices, such as a display. A relatively emerging output technology is the use of haptic surfaces or devices as output devices for certain computing devices. A haptic device or surface provides a user with tactile feedback to create a sense of touch via use of an array of haptic actuators. For example, some haptic surfaces or devices can simulate contours, edges, or textures. In some cases, a haptic surface or device is integrated into another output device, such as an output screen, to provide the user with an amount of haptic feedback in response to interaction with the output device (e.g., pressing a virtual button on the display screen of a computing device may provide a rumble effect).